Who Wins in a Conservation Competition?

Competition is a driving force in nature, but can it be a driving force to save nature? Image credit: mikebaird/Flickr

Among birders, the desire to identify as many species as possible in a day, month, or year is what separates the interested from the obsessed. In The Big Year, Rick Obamscik tells the story of a group of competitors racing across the country to secure the coveted American Birding Association championship.

Now, some conservationists are using this passion to aid protection efforts.Good writes:

A new Bay Area environmental nonprofit is adapting this idea and trying to push it beyond mere observation. The Wild Equity Institute's version of the Big Year, now in its second biennial run, challenges participants to spot—and help—endangered species in Golden Gate National Parks, a complex of reserves clustered around the Bay Area.